The scorching sun outside Duliang City scorched the earth mercilessly.

The moat surrounding Duliang City also dried up at this time, revealing the black silt at the bottom of the river.

The pale cyan walls reflected a dazzling light in the sunlight.

Li Yi and the people of Duliang City worked together to finally open the gate of the urn city, and everyone hurriedly ran across the moat.

Li Yi escorted everyone to stay at the back.

As he crossed the moat, he saw that there were still a lot of wooden stakes and broken armor and weapons left at the bottom of the dry river.

Of course, there are also white bones.

Like a dry moat, the devastated city of Duliang will always use time to cover up its suffering.

But now the Grass Army once again knocked on its doors with its sword, and like a moat scorched by the sun, the plague and suffering were once again naked in broad daylight.

Li Yi can only sigh how difficult the world is, and the people are like dogs.

When the people rushed out of Duliang City, the joy of escaping death had not yet been remembered and how long it lasted, and a huge confusion quickly hit everyone's hearts.

"Where do we go from here?"

The question hit everyone's brains like a hammer.

Duliang City is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and Huaishui lies in front of the city, which is a treasure land of feng shui according to feng shui.

But now the originally wide Huai water has completely dried up.

Looking around the other three sides of Duliang City, the once lush mountains and forests have now turned into dead barren forests due to drought.

The leaves that could have been coveted by the grass army are now mostly turned into yellowish fallen leaves.

Even if there are still some stubborn leaning on the branches, they are all wilted and lifeless.

Tens of thousands of people want to hide in such mountains and forests, and they will definitely be discovered by the grass army soon.

Moreover, most of these people are old, weak, sick and disabled, and it is very difficult to escape from pursuit in the mountains and forests.

The most important thing is that in previous years, the mountains were lush with trees and many wild fruit animals.

Tens of thousands of people are hiding inside, and even if they starve for a short time, they will not starve to death.

But now there is no hope for the wild fruits in the mountains and forests, and the beasts are estimated to be almost dead.

If you cross the Huaishui in front of the endless plain, you can see dozens of miles at a glance when you stand outside Duliang City.

Escaping for your life on such an empty plain will basically become the best prey for the grass army to pursue.

Just when everyone was at a loss, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted: "I can't wait any longer, let's go up the mountain separately." ”

This voice made everyone helpless and helpless.

The originally silent crowd soon became in a commotion, and everyone began to shout to find their relatives and friends.

After a while, everyone began to run towards the mountains around Duliang City.

Many of them ran around the moat towards the back hill of Duliang City.

This is undoubtedly a wise move, because everyone's habitual thinking is to run towards the nearby mountain, and want to hide in the mountain as soon as possible.

The back mountain is farther away and closer to the city.

However, because the city was originally built, it was considered that the back hill might be attacked by the enemy, so the gate behind it was not built.

Therefore, if the grass army wants to capture them, they must also come out of the front gate and bypass the entire city wall to reach the back mountain.

"Guest officer, run with us!"

Li Yi, who was standing at the back, met the inn's shopkeeper and shopkeeper again.

A few of them were a group of people running back into the mountains.

Li Yi looked at the people who were scattering, and then looked at the shopkeeper and the shopkeeper who were still panicked and anxious.

So he also pulled out his legs and ran in the direction of the back mountain.

Compared with those who were out of breath who ran softly with their belongings on their backs, Li Yi was much easier to run.

Not only because of his less salute, but also because of the training that Tai Jizi has given him in recent years.

Soon the crowd approached the back mountain, and the pace of the crowd slowed down.

Leaning against the city wall, Li Yi could vaguely hear the shouts of the grass army in the city, thinking that the battle in the city might be very fierce at this time.

By the time everyone went up the back mountain, they were basically so tired that they were about to collapse.

Everyone found a place to sit and rest.

Li Yi followed the inn and everyone to find a place to sit down.

"My observer officer has a weapon on his back, and he has run so far without blushing or panting, he must be a promising young man!"

Although the fat shopkeeper of the inn was panting like a broken bellows, he still accosted Li Yi for the first time.

"The shopkeeper's fallacy is praised, I learned some superficial kung fu from the tutor, and I know some stick martial arts."

Li Yi modestly replied, as the saying goes: Nothing to do is to be courteous or to steal.

Li Yi was very wary of the fat shopkeeper's accosting, you must know that since he and Liu Yu lived in the inn, the fat shopkeeper has never taken the initiative to talk.

Only the shopkeeper talked to him about the grass army, and this is still for the sake of the face of the dime of silver.

They all said: The car and boat shop should be killed if he is not guilty.

These people are all people who observe words and feelings, and bully the weak and the strong.

"Since the guest officer has the ability to do this, why don't you stay in the city, or if you can have some chances, you must have it!"

The fat shopkeeper's words made Li Yi frown.

Although he has been isolated in the mountains all these years, Li Yi is not ignorant of human affairs.

Among Professor Taijiko's many studies is the art of speaking.

Li Yi immediately heard the voice of the fat shopkeeper.

This fat shopkeeper is nothing more than saying that Li Yi can stay in the city and wait for the grass army to fight with the big households.

Whether it is the grass army or the big families, they need people with martial arts to help them.

When the grass army and the big families fought to the point of separating the strong and weak, Li Yi could choose to join the stronger side.

Then he will surely be able to benefit.

Li Yi smiled slightly: "The shopkeeper is joking, I am a citizen of the mountains, I don't want to be rich, I don't want to be famous all over the world, but I want to be free and happy." ”

When the fat shopkeeper heard Li Yi say this, he was slightly stunned at first, and then his face was slightly embarrassed and he couldn't help but smile.

"The guest officer is kind-hearted, there are not many young people with a heart like you now."

The fat shopkeeper complimented with a smile on his face.

"The shopkeeper is a tormented boy, the kid is just an ordinary person."

Although Li Yi also had a smile on his face, he was also a little more vigilant against this fat shopkeeper in his heart.

"Now that this grass army has entered the city, I don't know when they will retreat, I'm afraid that this inn won't be opened in a short time, and the guest officer has a place to go?"

"The kid doesn't have a clear destination for this trip, and he plans to go with the flow."

Li Yi carefully considered every sentence, for fear of being tricked by this fat shopkeeper.

"That being the case, we plan to leave Duliang County for the time being and go to Sizhou County to join our relatives, and then return to Duliang after the grass army retreats, why don't we go with us?"

As soon as the fat shopkeeper's words came out, Li Yi could be considered to understand the fat shopkeeper's intentions.

It turned out that the fat shopkeeper saw that Li Yi was carrying a spear on his back and judged that he was a practitioner, and he was afraid of accidents on the way to Sizhou County, so he wanted Li Yi to walk with them on the way to protect them.

But this made Li Yi a little difficult.

He really wanted to go to the county seat of Sizhou first to pay respects to their family.

And his original plan was to go on the road alone, so that not only would the travel speed be fast, but also the possibility of encountering mountain bandits on the target path would be small.

But now, if he walks with this fat shopkeeper, they are all carrying their belongings now, which is like a fat sheep sent to the door for the mountain bandits.

And Li Yi had to protect them, although Li Yi was not afraid of the mountain bandits with his martial arts, but he didn't want to cause trouble because of this.

Before he could figure out how to reject them, the fat shopkeeper seemed to see through his thoughts.

"Don't worry, guest officer, we won't let you run away in vain, we can give you money, and you will hire you as our escort."

"Shopkeeper, the Ming people don't say dark words, you see that your big group of people carries so much property, if you really want to go to Sizhou County, I'm afraid it won't be too safe."

Li Yi thought about it and still expressed his worries.

"Oh, what the guest officer said is that he didn't think it through."

The fat shopkeeper patted his head and suddenly realized.

"Guest officer, this is easy to do, we will immediately bury most of the gold and silver in this mountain, we will travel lightly, so that even if we encounter mountain bandits, we will not cause trouble."

As he spoke, the fat shopkeeper pulled a few people from the inn to the mountain, apparently looking for a place to bury their belongings.

Li Yi didn't look much at it, at this time he stood on tiptoe halfway up the mountain to see if he could see the situation in the city.

But due to the distance, he couldn't see the specific battle situation of the grass army and the big gate clearly.

Not long after, the shopkeeper of the inn came to Li Yi with a few shopkeepers.

At this time, the dress of several people jumped Li Yi.

The fat shopkeeper, who was originally well-dressed, is now wrapped in an old dress full of patches.

The garment was torn and dirty, and it was not so much that it was worn on his body as that it was strangled.

The original chubby body was worn under the loose robe, and there was no bloated feeling.

But now that the clothes are so torn and small, the fat shopkeeper looks like a ripe winter melon.

And the originally beautiful black scarf on his head was replaced with a tattered scarf.

At first glance, Li Yi felt that his head looked very much like a big turtle in the river.

It looks as funny as it looks.

On the contrary, although the shopkeepers also changed their original clothes, they were not too abrupt.

"Guest officer, if you look at this outfit, there will definitely be no bandit who is not long-sighted to come and kidnap us."

The fat shopkeeper said and lifted the sleeves of his robe and circled around the spot for a moment or two, he looked at himself and felt that he was dressed very well.

Li Yi couldn't help but laugh and didn't know what to say.

"I said the shopkeeper, not me, as far as you have fat, as long as the bandits are not blind, they will know that you are a big fish."

Before Li Yi could speak, the shopkeeper on the side sneered.

"Your child is neither big nor small, even if we are not in the store now, I am also your cousin, and you are not afraid of retribution for such a pastime elder."

The fat shopkeeper waved the sleeves of his robe and pretended to be angry.

Everyone couldn't help laughing.

In the end, at the suggestion of everyone, the fat shopkeeper had to find a piece of clothing from his bag, tear it, and then rub it on the ground and on the trees full of mud.

Although a few people began to continue to climb to the top of the mountain.

On the way, Li Yi also learned about the specific situation of several people.

The fat shopkeeper's surname is Yang Mingping, who is a native of Bozhou, and his family is also a local wealthy family.

When he was young, he was also a scholar, but he failed to pass the imperial examination for several years, so he had no choice but to give up literature and engage in business.

And the second shopkeeper is named Chen Sanlang, who is Yang Ping's distant nephew.

Several other people are also related to Yang Ping and Chen Sanlang.

There are nine of them, and they have been running inns in Duliang City for several years, and their business is prosperous.

This time, the grass army entered the city, and they planned to go to Sizhou County to join Yang Ping's brother.

Yang Ping's elder brother also runs an inn in Sizhou County, and both brothers are shrewd and capable, so they are both wealthy.

Due to the fact that there are few people coming to the mountains after this, and in order to prevent mountain bandits from stationing, Duliang County prohibits the construction of mountain roads on the mountains around the county seat.

Therefore, everyone can only zigzag and wind through the mountains.

This is not difficult for Li Yi, but it can be regarded as a huge challenge for the chubby Yang Ping.

In order to prevent accidents, Li Yi has been following Yang Ping, for fear that he will fall if he stumbles.

The scorching sun scorched on the mountain walls, causing the stones to become piping hot.

But in order to find the way forward, everyone inevitably had to climb the stone to move forward, which caused everyone's hands to be hot and red.

In addition, it is surrounded by mountains on three sides, resulting in smooth air circulation in the back mountain, and there is basically no wind in the air.

In a short time, everyone's bodies were soaked with sweat.

As a result, everyone had to stop and go.

When Yang Ping eased up, everyone could find their way up again.

In the process of climbing the mountain, Li Yi discovered a very strange phenomenon.

No matter how tired or hot it was, Yang Ping always straddled a small wooden box around his waist.

Although this small wooden box is not big, it will always bring some trouble to Yang Ping from time to time in the process of climbing the mountain.

However, even though Yang Ping threw off all the other salutes on his body, he never took off the small wooden box.

This made Li Yi interested in this small wooden box.

So in the process of climbing the mountain, Li Yi carefully observed the small wooden box.

To say that this small wooden box is actually nothing special, it is just that the materials are better.

This small wooden box is made of a fine piece of rosewood, and it looks like it is not light.

Judging from the appearance of the small wooden box, it is definitely an old thing.

The texture on the small wooden box looks like some special pattern, regular and complicated.

In the process of climbing the mountain, Li Yi listened carefully to the crisp impact sound inside, and Li Yi judged that there might be some gold and silver in it.

Although Yang Ping said that he buried all his belongings, it is likely that he still left some in this small wooden box.

After climbing for a while, Yang Ping lost his strength again, and everyone had to stop and rest again.

After finding a relatively flat place, Yang Ping, who was panting like a cow, completely disregarded the image and suddenly lay down on the rock.

The small wooden box on his waist opened the lid with a knock on the rock, and the contents spilled out.

Li Yi glanced at it, only to find that the things that fell out of the small wooden box turned out to be some woodworking tools such as hammers, chisels, and planers.

This made Li Yi very surprised, he really didn't expect that this Yang Ping was still a woodworking enthusiast.

But Li Yi didn't think much about it, after all, everyone has their own hobbies.

It's just that he didn't notice that Yang Ping, who was lying on the ground, glanced in his direction with slightly squinted eyes.